Apparatus for the manufacture of gas.



No. 683,300. Patented Sept. 24, IQDI. H. LANE.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

T (Application filed. May 7, 1901.) I (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet I.

WITNESSES: 1N VENTOI? Ma 7/: Wu Z ATTOHNEK m. fifla gm. Patented Sept. 24. I90].

H. LANE. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

(Applicatioufiled May 7, 1901.

(No Model.)

5"Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOI? WITNESSES: U, f

No. 683,300. Patented Sept. 24, 1901.

H. LANE.;

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

(Application filed May 7, 1901.] (No Model.) 7 5 Sheets-$heet 3.

WITNESSES:

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A TTORNEZS (N0 Model.)

- Patented Snt. 24,!90l. H. LANE.

A PARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

(Application filed May 7, 1901.

' 5 Sheets-Shaet 4.

WITNESSES:

)6 INVENTOHL ATTORNEYS No. 683,300.- Patented Sept. 24, mm.

H. LANE. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS (Applicafion med May 7, 1901. (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE.

HOWARD LANE, or BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

.APPARATUS FOR-THE MAN UF ACT UREhOF GAS.

siencrrzcerxon forming part of Letters PatentNo. 683,300, dated September 24,1901.

Application filed May'7,1901. Serial No. 59,142. Olomodeld To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD LANE, me chanical engineer, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 6 Corporation street, Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England,-have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Gas for Lighting, Heating, and other.

. trial uses without splitting up, cracking,

or otherwise prejudicially aflecting the volatile product.

The apparatus according to my invention is characterized by a generator or producer, a regenerator, a system of valves, and an annular air space and passages, operating and controlling mechanism for said valves,and devices and propelling means for blowing air into the generator or producer and for su-pplying water or steam to the regenerator.

In the accompanying five sheets of drawings I illustrate apparatus for the purposes of my invention, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section, Fig. 2 a side elevation, and Fig. 3 a front elevation, of apparatus in whichthe generator and regenerator are shown as separate vessels. Fig. 4 is a vertical section, and Fig. 5 a front elevation, of apparatus in which the generator and regenerator are combined in one vessel or casing.

Similar letters and'numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

. In Figs. 1', 2, and 3 the generator or producer Cb consists of a vertical metal casing 1, thickly lined with fire-brick or other suitable refractory material 2 and provided at the top with a hopper 3 for the supply of the fuel to be converted into gas. The generator a has in its walls number--in the example three-- apparatus.

of air-inlet pipes'and passages 4, disposed at dilferent points one above the other, the said inlets consisting of annular sp aces,with openin gs controlled by valves and covers and communicating by radial passages with the interior of the generator at dilferentheights and at different times progressively. There is also near the top of the generator an outlet the delivery of the gas. The generator is also fitted with sight and poking holes and other fittings common to similar furnaces and not therefore necessary to more particularly describe or illustrate, and at its base a fireplace 6 is provided for the initial starting of the there is an outlet through which the ashes fall into an ash pan or trough 7, which is kept nearly full of water in order to seal the outlet and keep the generator gas-tight. The ashes as they, fall can be raked out periodic ally and removed from the ash-pan.

The generator is connected at its base by a passage 8 with the base of a regenerator b,

. consistingof a vertical metal casing 1, thickly lined with refractory material 2 and partly filled with'fire-brick checker-work 9 and partly with checker-work of iron' 10 or other material not liable to disintegrate under the action of moisture and heat. At its upper end the regenerator b is connected with a chimney 11, which is opened and closed by a valve, and at some suitable point in the regenerator, preferably near the base, is an air-inlet pipe andpassage 12, fitted with a valve in a casing 13', and a scavenging-outlet 14, fitted with a valve in a casing 15. The regenerator has also sight-holes (not shown) for enabling its interior to be inspected and a suitable door 16 for cleaning purposes.

In the regenerator above the iron checkerwork 10 is mounted a revolving distributor 17, supplied with water, as required, through a pipe 18, controlled by a tap 01' valve. (Not shown.) The distributor 17 is revolved bya pair of bevel-gears 19, shaft 20, belt-pulley 21, belt 22, and pulley 23 on a shaft 24, which is driven by a pulley 25, belt 26, and pulley 27 from a shaft28, which is driven in any convenient manner from a gas engine or other suitable motor and has mounted on it the cams for actuating the several gas and At the bottom of the generator 60 passage and pipe 5, controlledby a valve for 32, open and close the valves in the casings 38 .fices being open at the time.

air valves by the followingor any other convenient arrangement of mechanism. There is a rod or shaft 29 fixed parallel to the shaft 28, and on this rod 29'are pivoted loosely as many elbow-levers 30 as there are cams on the shaft 28, and each elbow-lever has an antifriction-roller 31 at its end contiguous to its cam, while at the other end it is connected by a rod 32 t.o the'valve which it controls. Thus the cam 33, through its elbow-lever 30 and connecting-rod 32, opens and closes the valve in the casing 34, which controls the.

gas-outlet pipe 5 from the top of the generator a. The cams 35 36 37, through their respective elbow-levers 30 and connecting-rods 39 40, which control the air-blast supplied to the several inlets 4 of the generator. In like manner the'cam 41 opens and closes the valve in the, casing 13, controlling the air-inlet 12 to the passage 8 between the generator and regenerator, the cam 42 opens and closes the valve in the casing 15, controlling the scavenging-outlet 14 from the regenerator, and:

the cam 43 opens and closes the valve in the casing: 44, controlling the outlet at the top of fed through the hopper 3'into the interior of the generator and a fire is started in the fireplace 6 beneath it, the cleaning and poking oriburns the cleaning and poking orifices are closed and a fresh supply of fuel is gradually fed in through the hopper 3 until the whole mass within the interior becomes highly heated. The fresh fuel, owing to the high temperature of the generator, at once volatilizes to the extent of giving 01f a combustible gas, which may be allowed to pass off through the gas-outlet pipe 0 to a holder, (not shown,) whence it may be conducted to the gas-engine (where such is employed) and utilized to run the engine fora fewturns while starting the apparatus. Then the gas-valve 34 is closed and the outlet-valve 44 from the regenerator to the chimney is opened and the ordinary working of the apparatus now begins. First, air is blown into the generator froma suitable fan or equivalent. (Not shown, but connected to a pipe 46, leading to the pipes and passages 4 and 12.) The air passes down through the highlyheated mass of fuel first from the highest air-inlet 4' and then from the next in order lower down, the valves 38 39 of said inlets being opened and closed by their respective cams to bring the said inlets progressively into action, and thereby create a series of zones of high temperature at'differentheights,which combine to constitute a column of incandescent fuel. During the blowing period, asdescribed, the gaseous products of combustionpass from the generator a into the lower extremity of the regenerator b and the air-inlet 12, whereby complete combus- As the fuel tion is effected. ,After this the gaseous products ascend up the interior of the regenerator first through the fire-brick checker-work 9 and then through the iron checker-work 10,

"which absorb the heat from the products before they escape up'the chimney. When the regenerator has become highly heated, the blowing period istermina'ted and all the airvalves 38, 39, 40, and 13 are closed, as well as the valve 44, controlling the outlet to the chimney. 11. The scavenging-valve 15 is then opened and the tap or valve of the water- 'supply is also opened automatically-say by a cam-so that water is sprayed upon the heated iron checker-work 1'0 andis instantly converted into 'steam,which passes downward through the interior of the regenerator and passage 8 up through the column of incandescent fuel in the generator, and in so do ing becomes decomposed into its constituents, hydrogen, carbonic ox-id, and'other gases being produced. These gases now pass upv through the green or raw fuel at the top of the generator and subject it to destructive distillation, the hydrocarbon and other'vapor-thereby liberated mixing with the said gases and passing 'awaywith them through the gasoutlet pipe 5 to the gas-holder. To facilitate combustion and prevent caking or clinkering of such fuel in the generator 0. as has that tendency, a smoke pipe or passage may be employed leading from the upper part to the lower partof the generator. The efiect of this pipe or passage is by providing an outlet in the upper p'art'ofthe generator to cause an updraft of part of the blast in= troduced through the air-inlet passages. Any suitable and known means for scrubbing and purifying the gas may be employed, if required for illuminating or certain other purposes;- but for heating or the like the gas may be used as produced. On the termination of the gas-making period the blowing period in the generator recommenc'es. Thus it will be seen that water-gas is first formed and then is converted into a richer gas by its passage through and its action upon the green or raw fuel.

As already stated, the apparatus may be operated by any convenient motor, and if a gas-engine be employed the gas-producing plant is intended to make the gas necessary for the engine, and this engine will, through the shafts, cams, and connecting mechanism, effect the automatic working of the apparatus.

It will be readily understood that the here-- in-described process of gas production could be carried out in other forms of apparatus suitably arranged for carrying out the cycle season of operations specified, and as an example one such alternative arrangement of apparatus is illustrated-in Figs. 4 and 5. In these viewsthe generator on and the regenerator b are shown combined withinone metal casing 1,

the regenerator taking the form ofan annular chamber or jacket. surrounding the generator. In this arrangement only two air blasts or inlets t areshown to the generator; but the method of working and the order of the cycle of operations are identically the same as that already described.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United-States, is-

1. In combination in a gas-making apparatus, a generator, a regenerator, a connection between the lower ends of the generator and regenerator, means for introducing air beneath the raw fuel in the generator and for forcing the gaseous products of combustion downward in said generator and through said low connection to the regenerator means whereby airmaybe introduced in saidlow connection to complete combustion, thecheckerwork in the regenerator composed in its lower part of fire-brick and in its upper part of metal, a water-spray for directing water to the checker-work, means for scouring out the remnant-of the gaseous products of combustion from said regenerator,m cans for directing the steam from the regeneratorup through the fuel in the generator.

2. An apparatus for the manufacture of gas made from fuel and water and comprising a generator and a regenerator furnished 3 5 with a fire-grate and water seal near the bottom and an aperture for feeding in the coal for supplying and-spraying water on the upper part of said checker-work, an outlet from the top of the regenerator-to a chimney and a scavenging-outlet from the bottom, and means for controlling the said air and water inlets and outlets, substantially as described.

3. -In combination, a generator, a regenerator, a connection between the lowerends of the same,a plurality of air-inlets in the generator arranged at difierent levels, an airinlet to supply air to the .products of com* bustion from the generator to complete said combustion,- a spray-pipe at the upper end of the regenerator, a scavengingfor scouring outlet at the lower end of the regenerator and means for controlling said inlets and outlets, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

, HOWARD LANE. Witnesses:

H; B. BARLoW, HERBERT R. ABBEY; 

